NATION DATELINES

Compiled from Examiner wire reports

Published 4:00 am, Friday, September 20, 1996

AH: Olympic bomb part reportedly tracked Atlanta The battery that was likely used to detonate the bomb at Centennial Olympic Park came from a south Florida hardware chain, an Atlanta television station has reported.

The 12-volt battery, a type commonly used for lanterns, was in a shipment of 24 batteries delivered to the Sewell Hardware chain earlier this year, Worley Sewell told WXIA Thursday.

The battery was tracked to the West Palm Beach, Fla.-based chain by its lot number.

Sewell said an FBI agent who visited the chain's headquarters Thursday told him the battery was used to detonate the bomb. It wasn't clear if the battery was stolen or sold to someone.

Conviction of Trump

shoe thief overturned New York A publicist convicted of stealing dozens of pairs of Marla Maples Trump's footwear had his conviction reversed on a technicality by a federal judge.

Chuck Jones, 53, must be freed or given a new trial in 30 days. He began his 4-1/4-year term in June after exhausting appeals of his February 1994 conviction for burglary, possession of stolen property and illegal gun possession.

Police found more than 70 pairs of Trump's shoes and boots in Jones' office, and had a videotape of him entering her apartment. Donald Trump, who has called Jones "a sick puppy," could not be reached for comment.

The technicality cited Thursday by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin was that Jones' trial judge forbade Jones from talking with his lawyers overnight after a day on the witness stand, thereby depriving him of counsel.

Altar boy's murder

investigation closed Philadelphia No more charges will be filed in the 1994 beating death of an altar boy who was attacked on the steps of his church by a mob from a rival high school, a prosecutor says.

Earlier this year, after seven young men were sentenced to prison for their part in the death of 16-year-old Eddie Polec, prosecutors had promised to continue their investigation.

But District Attorney Lynne Abraham said that after an extensive reinvestigation, no more arrests are warranted. She did not elaborate.

Polec was jumped by students wielding baseball bats on Nov. 12, 1994, to avenge insults and get even for a rumored assault on a girl - a rumor that turned out to be false.

Temporary release for

jailed deadbeat dad New York A state judge has temporarily released America's most notorious deadbeat dad for a three-month trial period in hopes it would motivate him to find a job and pay his ex-wife long overdue child support.

Jeffrey Nichols, 47, a commodities and precious metals investment advisor, owes $642,550 to his ex-wife, Marilyn Nichols Kane, for the support of their three children.

In releasing Nichols on Thursday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Phyllis Gangel-Jacob also said she believes Nichols has "thumbed his nose" at a December 1995 agreement in which he pledged to pay his former wife more than half a million dollars and other obligations in back support.

The judge said Nichols has made little or no effort to find employment and ordered that he return to court in December with serious documentation about his employment.

No threat from CIA

home page break-in Washington The CIA pulled the plug on its Internet site after a hacker broke in and posted a message declaring it the "Central Stupidity Agency."

CIA officials said Thursday that the agency's World Wide Web home page was not linked to mainframe computers containing spy secrets or other classified national security information.

"There is no way to access internal CIA information from this home page," said Rick Oborn, an agency spokesman.

He said the site was tampered with on Wednesday night and had been shut down by the agency on Thursday morning while a task force tried to prevent another break-in.&lt;